Education
PhD, University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign, 2007
MA, Ball State University, 2000
Overview
My interest in aging research has been largely shaped by my personal belief that learning is a lifelong process that occurs through life experiences and activities in which we engage. As many activities continue into the later half of life, I am particularly interested in the relationship between intellectual and social engagement and cognitive performance in an adult population. Additionally, my interests are concerned with the identification of lifestyle factors (e.g., education, personality) that may serve as risk/protective mechanisms on cognition in adulthood; and determining how interventions may be designed, implemented, and improved in order to promote cognitive, physical, and mental health across the lifespan.
Honors and Awards
Advising, Mentoring, and Teaching Recognition Award (AMTRA), Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 2011, 2014, 2017
Fellowship, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois, 2007
American Psychological Association Dissertation Research Award, 2006
Bureau of Education Dissertation Research Award, University of Illinois, 2006
William Chandler Bagley Doctoral Scholarship, University of Illinois, 2006
Pilot Grant Program, the Roybal Foundation Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Illinois, funded by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health, 2006